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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels took full control of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus on Monday after days of fighting, rebel and Palestinian sources said.

The battle had pitted rebels, backed by some Palestinians, against Palestinian fighters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Many of the PFLP-GC fighters had defected to the rebel side on Saturday, and their leader Ahmed Jibril left the camp on the same day, rebel sources said.

"All of the camp is under the control of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army," said a Palestinian activist in Yarmouk. He said the clashes had stopped and the remaining PFLP fighters had retreated and joined the government forces massed on the northern edge of the camp.